7 Thing To Do During a Walk Through Before Renting A Home
Today is the day you’ve been waiting for. It is the day you get to do a walk through of your favorite rental property you’ve put loads of time and effort in to obtaining for you and your family. During your walk through everything looks perfect you can’t believe how amazing this house is. Fast forward to move in day and you begin to notice that things aren’t exactly how you want them to be. At this point, unfortunately, it may be too late to complain. So we are here to help you learn 7 VERY important things to do on your next (or any) rental home walk through.
1. Open and Close All Doors and Windows
This seems extremely silly, but you’d be surprised by the number of times something as small as a door opening and closing properly has caused an issue. Make sure there are no snags when you try and close the door(s), also double check the weather stripping. Is it in good shape? If not this could allow a lot of cold air in during the winter and hot air in during the summer. Do this to all the doors in the house including interior doors (although these doors will not contain weather stripping normally).
2. Run Faucets in Kitchen, Bathrooms, and Anywhere Else
Make sure each and every faucet in the home works to your liking. Sometimes faucets can spray water in weird ways, or just plain not work. Do they drain properly? Any weird odors? Make sure the water pressure seems okay. Does both the hot and cold water work? Test them all to be sure you don’t need to call your landlord on move in day.
3. Look in Each Closet and Judge If the Space is Adequate
We all wish we had a millionaire’s walk-in closet, but the reality is we don’t always get that luxury. So when you’re walking through your potential new rental home, be sure and take into consideration how much stuff you family has. Each room may have a different sized closet, make sure you take a look and determine if there is adequate space for your family’s thing.
4. Thoroughly Inspect the Outside of the Home
Of course the way things look is extremely important to us all, so be mindful of any huge blemishes or cosmetic issues that will bother you long term, but most importantly is to make sure you check for any structural issues that may cause you and your family troubles in the future. Any large gaps in the foundation that air or event rodents could enter/exit? If there is siding on the house, is it in good shape? The roof, is it falling apart? Inspect all the windows and their framing to ensure that it all looks how it should. Go around the house and make sure it is good to go before you decide.
5. Check If Your Appliances Will Work
In the kitchen you want to make sure that your stove will work. Do you currently have a gas or electric stove? What does the rental home accept? Some homes are only electric and some are only gas, and then there are some that give the option for both. Next is the dryer. What do you currently own? Does your dryer require the gas line to create heat? Or is it electric? Is it stackable? Front loading? Top loading? Will it fit on top of or beside your washer in the provided space? If you can’t tell by looking, be sure and ask someone!
6. Will You Fit?
All of the things we have already gone over are all fine and dandy, and are definitely things that are very important to do when walking through a house for rent. However, the most important question is, “Will my family fit?”. Are the rooms big enough for your beds? Are there enough rooms? The dining room, will you all be able to eat dinner together? The living room, will your couches and chairs fit? You definitely want to make sure you think about this in detail, because we don’t always have the luxury of just going to get new furniture for our new home.
7. Make Sure You’re Okay With The Home As It Is
One of the worst mistakes you can make is to just not care about the walkthrough of your potentially new rental home. If you don’t take the time to follow the previous 6 tips you could find yourself stuck with problems that bother you and your family for a considerable amount of time. You need to make sure this home will suit you and your family for the duration of your rental agreement. For example, saw you move in to your new home and while putting your washer and dryer in to place you realize that the water inlets are not where you’d like them to be. At this point it is most likely too late to call and complain about the property not being to your liking.
Finding the right house for rent isn’t always a simple task. Often times people and families can spend weeks or months trying to find the right place to call home. Buckeye Northwest Realty is here to help. Our experienced property managers and staff can guide you through everything you need in order to make sure you and your family have a long, happy experience in your new home. Contact us today or view our available rental properties to find your next dream home!
